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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
friend_n	line_n	page_n	read_v	2,028	5	9.7800	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A67000	The freeness of Gods grace in the forgiveness of sins by Jesus Christ, vindicated. Against the doctrine of Mr. Fergusson, in his sermon preached at the morning lecture, the fifth of August 1668. in a letter to a friend. By H. W. a lover of the truth that is according to Godliness.	H. W.	1668 (1668)	Wing W35; ESTC R217619	15,119	18

difficulties than any of those that are to follow him Is he not thereby the more fit to be their Captain may there not from hence be given a good account of all the sufferings and the death of Christ that he was to be the Captain of our Salvation Did it not well become the Wisdom and Holiness of God to give repentance and remission of sins through such a person as should obtain this Glory and Power by an obedience accompanyed with the hardest sufferings He now goes on to tell us that Christ underwent this Curse in our stead And here he cites Dan. 9 26. Rom. 4 25. 1 Pet. 2. 24. Isa 53. which in my Judgment are not the most probable prooss he might have brought for that purpose But it being salfe that Christ underwent the eternal Curse there is no place for his doing it in our stead Neither did he undergo that which he did undergo in our stead but on our behalf for our good and that we should follow his steps So saith the Apostle Peter Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps 1 Pet. 2.21 He that doth any thing in another's stead doth it that the other may not do it but Christ suffered for our Example not to free us from suffering the like Christ suffered for us so he entred into Heaven for us Heb. 6.20 not in our stead but for our good to be a Priest and to interceed for us that we may come thither also Under this third particular concerning what Christ hath wrought for us he talks of a price for Grace and that all Grace is given by vertue of the satisfaction of Jesus Christ He cites to this purpose 2 Pet. 1. 1. To them that have obtained like precious Faith through the Righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ Whence he collects that God is bound in Justice to give Grace and Faith because Christ hath bought it It 's strange he should be unmindfull of the Apostle Paul's making Grace and Debt such opposites as destroy each other and cannot have place in the same matter Of which I have soken something before Again he considers not the words he utters for Faith is said in this Text to be obtained by us not only through the Righteousness of God but also through the Righteousness of Jesus Christ Is Christ obliged to give us Faith because he bought it It is in the Greek Faith in the Righteousness of God c. so Righteousness may be taken for the Object of Faith and denotes here the saithfulness of God and Christ promising to us eternal life These are the men that cry up the Grace of God the free Grace of God bat my dear Friend if you will be but at the pains to weigh the matter throughly which alas few will you will perceive that their Doctrine of Grace rightly understood doth quite overthrow Grace I have shewed you here how his Doctrine of Satisfaction is diametrically opposite to the Grace of forgiveness of sins which God did design before the World to magnisie by Jesus Christ in the Gospel But he hath a pretty setch here whereby he thinks to free himself of this charge and that is by telling us as he doth in his Application That the great Mercy as well as Justice of God appears in this Satisfaction because my Friends saith he though God will have a Satisfaction yet he will procure it himself be will be at the cost of it himself O the wisdom of God in finding it out O that men would but consider what this means But men are mighty idle and popishly credulous in matters of Faith The meaning then is this That God Almighty is necessitated by his Nature to execute the punishment due to all the sins of men for so he saith that by sin punishment became due and being due it became necessary to be executed So that God can no more pardon one sin without due punishment than he can lie or deny himself Now it seems this necessity of his Nature gave him liberty I know not how to execute this punishment upon others that were righteous in case they had been Sureties if any such there had been instead of the guilty But there being none such but only one to wit Jesus Christ his wel-beloved Son who was of so excellent a Nature that he could bear as much punishment in a few hours as all the World deserved and was not able to bear to eternity Therefore he commands this Son who would not disobey him to take upon him a humane nature and therein to bear this infinite punishment that so his avenging Justice being satisfied he might then justifie some part of those that had finned This is God's procuring the Satisfaction himself this is being at the cost of it But let me argue with him a little How can that be a true and proper satisfaction which the Creditor is at the cost of himself It is but a shew of satisfaction when one receives but what he himself gives or is at the cost of And so this specious Doctrine of satisfying Justice will be but a meer representation of a thing that is not real If the Creditor did receive what he did not give then his Mercy is just so much diminished If he receiv'd all that was due his Mercy is nothing at all You will say his mercy appears in this that being at liberty to punish the sinner himself or a righteous person in his stead he chose to punish the righteous person and to let the sinner go free This seems to have some little weight in it but consider it narrowly Here is indeed some kindness shewn to the person of the sinner but there is just as much unkindness shewed to the person of the Righteous but in respect to the sin there is no mercy at all for whether he punish the Sinner or the Righteous the sin is fully avenged And what good Governour I pray would not rather in such a case punish the sinner than the Righteous But you will say he rewarded the Righteous for bearing this punishment I answer that is just as if one did owe me a Thousand pounds and I should procure another to pay me the money in his stead and for his encouragement I tell him I will give him a Thousand pounds value in somewhat else I say this is no real but an imaginary and represented satisfaction So that let him turn himself which way he will he shall never be able to make full satisfaction to Justice and Mercy in forgiveness to stand together By all this it appears that his doctrine is false in a matter of great concernment as that which obscures lessens disparages or overthrows the Righteousness Goodness Mercy and Grace of God in the Gospel Having now finished what I intended wherein I pray excuse me if I have been too long and pardon the errors of haste I will take my leave beseeching you to be very careful of receiving any Doctrine you do not understand especially if it seem to darken the Wisdom or any way lessen the Grace of God but cherish such Principles as represent God and Christ full of Wisdom Grace and Goodness and so beget in you humility love and considence towards them Suffer not your self to be imposed upon by the bare name of Mystery nor by the multitude of those that profess any Doctrine but look whether you can find it in the holy Scriptures Consider the great Vanities Superstitions yea and Idolatries that have crept into the Church so that it is no great marvel if many err in this point also Let us pray that God would be pleased to vindicate the Truth of the Gospel from the Inventions of men that it may appear in its native beauty and loveliness I hope you will not satisfie your self with only reading what I have wrote but will weigh it seriously as a matter of great concernment I shall much rejoyce to be serviceable to you in it for I am Sir Your Friend in the best bands H. W. London Aug. 13. 1668. Page 6. line 14. for impale read impute

the Judge of all the Earth which he Preaches The Phoenicians and Carthaginians sacrificing a few men or some of their Children in the behalf of the whole people seems to come short of this in cruelty and unrighteousness Now he comes to his second Proposition That it was impossible for satisfaction to be made any other way but by Christ But having made it appear that the satisfaction he talks of is inconsistent with the Nature of God with his Righteousness Mercy and Grace as they are set forth in Scripture this Proposition falls to the ground and is impertinent Onely I may observe that in rejecting of Sacrifices new Obedience and Sufferings though he cites Psalm 51. 16. for the defectiveness of Sacrifices yet he takes no notice of the next verse where the Psalmist saith The Sacrifices of God are a broken Spirit a broken and a contrite heart O God thou wilt not despise So he cites Psalm 50. 12. to the same purpose but waves that which follows in verse 14 15. Offer unto God thanksgiving and pay thy vows unto the most High And call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorifie me He doth not reject slain Beasts and burnt Offerings that he may have slain men or such as may be eternally or infinitely punished and tormented in the stead of the guilty but he requires in those places sincere and hearty obedience in things morally and truly good in place of things ceremonial and only positively good Here he tells us That the sufferings of men cannot satisfie because they are not infinite in weight for men are not capable of that They are capable of infinite sufferings in respect of length and continuance but that is to be alwayes suffering without ever compleating satisfaction Thus we see that the punishment laid upon Christ is according to him equal to the sufferings of men for evermore But these men if they had been sit sureties must have been righteous men so the sufferings of Christ are equal to the sufferings of millions of righteous men for evermore But how dare we say That God who loved his own Son more than millions of Righteous men much more than millions of sinners should yet lay upon him the punishment due to sinners and that which is equal to the eternal sufferings of millions of righteous men for the saving of a lesser number of sinners would it not even grieve a man of Ingenuity to be saved if it were possible at this rate He saith the Satisfaction is alwaies spoken of as having been done to reconcile God But it will be very hard I think impossible for him to shew but one Scripture that saith so nay that saith but that Christ dyed to reconcile God to us which is far less How ordinary is it for men to think the Scriptures speak what they would have them speak It saith indeed that when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the Death of his Son Rom. 5. 10. And that God hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ And God was in Christ reconciling the World unto himself not imputing their trespasses unto them 2 Cor. 5. 18 19. what need of reconciling him that so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son c. Joh. 3.16 We come now to his proof of the main matter viz. That Jesus Christ hath given the Father a full and plenary satisfaction c. Here by the way he saith Christ hath given the Father Satisfaction I desire therefore to know who satisfied the Son and Holy Spirit Or is the Son and Holy Spirit of a more merciful and gracious nature so that they will pardon sin without a satisfaction though the Father cannot For the clearing of this proposition he saith 1. That Christ underwent what we should have undergone And this he saith was in point of feeling Death and the Curse an infinite punishment as to weight though it was but short as to time as Hanging is shorter than sitting in the Stocks two or three hours He did not only undergo the Death which the Law cursed but all the Curse which God could put into his Death Thus far he Here he cites Luk. 22.44 Mat. 26. 37 38. Mar. 14. 33. Heb. 5.7 Mat. 27.46 Joh. Now my Friend I pray read all these texts consideratly as many more as ye please and see whether all or any of them say that Christ underwent an insinite punishment or all the Curse which God could put into his Death Whereas he saith Christ swett great drops of Blood Luke saith as it were great drops of blood But I would ask him a question or two hereupon 1. Whether it be not part of the curse that men must bear to know clearly and to be deeply sensible that they have no interest in Gods favour and that they never shall have any and that God hates them with an everlasting hatred 2. Whether a stinging and guilty conscience as having justly deserved the Curse in their own persons be not a main Ingredient in the Curse which men must bear And if these be parts of the Curse then let him tell me whether Christ when he was in an Agony in the Garden or when he was on the Cross or at any other time underwent either of these for did he not pray to God in the Garden and call him Father Did not God send an Angel to comfort him Did he not upon the Cross invocate God saying My God my God though he had forsaken him in giving him up to the power of his enemies and did he not then comend his Spirit into his Father's hands Luk. 23.46 Are these the Actions and this the state of a man under the greatest Curse that God can lay upon him Then be comforted ye damned for it will not be so hard with you as is imagined Did Christ think that God hated him when he knew he was his wel-beloved Son and that this obedience of his in dying should be rewarded with eternal Glory what Doctrine is this that brings in the Holy One of God despairing of Gods favour hated of God and tormented in his own conscience with sense of unpardonable guilt as it necessarily follows from his assertions He saith it would be to lessen the courage of Christ if his Agony proceeded from a foresight of his Death not considering what his Text saith that It became him for whom are all things and by whom are all things in bringing many Sons to Glory to make the Captain of their Salvation perfect through sufferings How should Christ be a compleat Captain if he did not experience as great trials as any of the Souldiers are like to meet with And do not many of the Souldiers his followers meet with such a sense of sufferings that are before them as put them into an Agony But what if he being to break the Ice to go first to be a glorious example met with with greater Hardships and